Four Terps Selected In 2014 MLL Draft

Maryland Athletics

1-10-2014

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Led by senior defender Michael Ehrhardt, four Maryland men's lacrosse student-athletes were chosen in the 2014 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft Friday evening at the US Lacrosse National Convention in Philadelphia.

Ehrhardt, a native of Westbury, N.Y., was a second team USILA All-American in 2013 after leading the Maryland defense to a No. 9 national ranking in scoring defense, allowing just 8.21 goals per game. Ehrhardt finished the season third on the team with 53 groundballs and second on the squad with 15 caused turnovers.

Senior midfielder Mike Chanenchuk was the next Terrapin off the board, also joining the Hounds as the 11th overall selection.

Chanenchuk, a native of Poquot, N.Y., was a second team USILA All-American last season after becoming the first Maryland midfielder to lead the team in goals scored since Chris Malone in 2000. Chanenchuk, who is a two-time All-American, finished the 2013 season with a team-best 23 goals and was second in points with 37. The junior shot .315 percent for the season and had a .616 shots-on-goal percentage.

The third Terp to be selected was senior goalie Niko Amato, becoming the first Terp to join the Florida Launch, with the 29th overall selection.

Amato, a native of Conshohocken, Pa., enters his final season as a two-time All-American after ranking seventh in the nation with a .594 save percentage and ninth in the country with a 7.98 goals-against average. Amato finished fourth on the team with 30 groundballs and even added two assists.

The final Terp to be drafted was senior short-stick defensive midfielder Brian Cooper, who earned the distinction of being 2014's MLL equivalent of "Mr. Irrelevant" as the final selection of the draft, going with the 64th overall selection to the Chesapeake Bayhawks.

Cooper, a native of Crofton, Md., returned to his natural short-stick position last season after playing the entire 2012 season as a long-stick close defender. He saw action in 11 of the Terps' 14 games and had 10 groundballs, 10 caused turnovers and one assist.

The Terrapins will open their 2014 season with Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 8 at noon at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium.